Two or Three Things I Know for Sure [Paperback]

'OH, I COULD TELL YOU STORIES THAT WOULD DARKEN THE SKY AND STOP THE BLOOD'

Dorothy Allison's debut novel, 'Bastard Out of Carolina', introduced her as one of the most passionate, uncompromising and gifted writers on the literary scene. In 'Two or Three Things I Know for Sure', she explores the family background and upbringing which inspired that extraordinary book. With exceptional candour and directness, she talks about her white trash, dirt-poor background and her triumph over family violence, sexual abuse, lack of education and physical unattractiveness. This was a legacy which Dorothy, smart and plain, shook off slowly, as her feminism and her heart led her to lesbian relationships, often painful, finally rewarding.

Pithy, funny, poignant and confrontational, this is Dorothy Allison with her gloves off. Read it aloud and savour the rhythms, marvel at how the telling of such tales can be so enjoyable and so inspirational.

Praise for Dorothy Allison:

'Allison tells her sad tales with a lyricism that lifts them into another realm.'
KIRKUS

'The territory that Allison has set out to explore is dangerous turf. It is a great pleasure to see her succeed, blithe and graceful as Baryshnikov in performance. A major talent.'
NEW YORK TIMES

'Allison illuminates aspects of a class that has been neglected and misunderstood. Haunting work…a raw power.'
NEW STATESMAN

'Her work has all the hard-won honesty of Carver's best writing.'
INDEPENDENT

Dorothy Allison is the author of ‘Trash’, a collection of short stories that won two Lambda Literary Awards in 1989, and the autobiographical ‘Two or Three Things I Know for Sure’, both of which are available in Flamingo.

‘Bastard Out of Carolina’, her first novel, was shortlisted for the American National Book Award. She lives in San Francisco.